Gujarat's new BJP government to take oath of office tomorrow

The new government led by Vijay Rupani would take the oath of office and secrecy at a grand ceremony in Gandhinagar tomorrow in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a galaxy of senior BJP leaders and chief ministers of NDA-ruled states.
Along with Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel, several others are also expected to be sworn-in by Governor O P Kohli.
Prime minister Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states and those governed by NDA allies are expected to attend the ceremony, Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani said.
He said several Union ministers and senior leaders of the party have also been invited, besides saints and religious leaders of different faiths, Vaghani said.

Apart from Rupani and Nitin Patel, six to nine Cabinet and around 15 ministers of state are expected to take oath, party sources said.
"Most of the senior leaders who were ministers in the last government are expected to make it to the ministry," sources said.

The names doing the rounds for Cabinet berths are Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Kaushik Patel, Ganpat Vasava, Dilip Thakor, Babubhai Bokhiria and Pradeepsinh Jadeja.
Some new faces are likely to be inducted as ministers of state.
Six ministers in the previous government lost in the elections. Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora too bit the dust.
With 99 MLAs, the BJP has a simple majority in the 182- member Assembly, 16 less than its 2012 tally of 115.

Opposition Congress, which had won 61 seats in 2012, managed to increase its tally to 77. The strength of the Congress and its allies in the new House is 80.
Rupani and Patel were elected as the leader and deputy leader, respectively, of the BJP legislature party at its meeting on December 22.